Car-roof construction.



P. JAGER.

GAB. ROOF CONSTRUCTION,

APPLICATION FILED 11110.30, 1912.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

2 SHBETBSHEET 1.

F. JAGER.

OAR ROOF CONSTRUCTION.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.30,1912.

1,1 20,502. Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

2 SHEETB-SHEET 2.

'HL yam? PETERS C17 PHOTOVLITHIL. \VASH/Nli MN. I) r burr s'ra FRANK JAGER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 8, 1914.

Application filed December 30, 1912. Seria1 No. 739,189.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK JAGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Roof Construction, of which the following is a specification, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates generally to car roof construction, and more particularly to certain improved means for attaching a roof sub-structure to car body members.

One object is to provide a roof construction which shall be light and durable and easily assembled; a further object is the provision of a rigid substructure of substantial strength and stiffness eflectually braced against deformation due to rocking or weaving of the car; and a still further object of this invention is to provide the proximate ends of roofing members with novel engaging means adapted to straddle the car side plates and to be fastened thereto, in a manner more fully described herein.

These, together with such other objects as may hereinafter appear, or are incident to my invention, I attain by means of a construction illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a portion of a car roof illustrating one embodiment of my invention; the running board and roof covering being broken away to better disclose the application of the sub-structure to the car-body.

Figure 2 is a transverse section through the construction shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective illustrating the sub-structure members prior to assembling.

Figures 4 and 5 are enlarged perspective drawings showing the engaging portions of the chord and truss member in assembled relation.

In disclosing my invention, the reference numeral 5 represents the sidings, 6 the side plates, and 7 the fascia: of a car of ordinary construction.

Arched to take the shape of the roof are carlines 8, disposed at intervals along the car siding, and to which the roof covering maybe fastened. These carlines are shown preferably made of commercial rolled angle iron and run substantially straight across the roof between the car sidings. The carline 8 is split in at its proximate ends to separate the horizontal flange 8 and the vertical flange 8 up to a pointshort of its ends as shown in the drawings, to form engaging portions for attachment to side plates, or other car body members, as more fully described hereinafter. 1

Interposed between and bridging the carlines to form a series of trusses in a substantially horizontal plane, are bracing members 9, each adapted to be fastened at its middle to a member 8, having its ends bent away or divergent to form therewith a substantially K-shaped member. To readily permit this bending of the ends, the horizontal flange 9 is cut through to the vertical flange 9 as at 10, 10, thus providing a central portionll which is preferably folded under the outer portions 'of the horizontal flange in order to engage with the web of the vertical flange 9! when the ends are thus bent. The vertical and horizontal flanges of both members are perforated as at 12 and 13 for the reception of suitable clamping elements as bolts 14:, 15 respectively.

As already described the member 8 has its flanges 8 and 8 separated, to provide what I shall term lugs S and 8 respectively, and by referring more particularly to Figures 3, 4 and 5 it will be seen that the flanges 9 and 9 of the bracing member are similarly split in and separated to form lugs 9 and 9 respectively, the lugs 8 and 9 being bent inwardly to a transverse position under their respective horizontal flanges, and the lugs 8 and 9 extend horizontally a short distance and are then bent down-. wardly, to form an engaging portion adapted to straddle a side plate at either or both ends of the said memberslVith the substructure in position and ex-. tending across the roof, then the lugs 8, 9", rest up against the inside face of the plates, and the lugs 8, 9, bear upon the upper surface and against the outside face of the side plates 6.

In my preferred construction, the bracing member is not only fastened at its middle portion to one of the carlines, with its ends resting upon the side plates and the lugs occupying a position up against the inside and outside faces of the plates, but the arrangement permits the next adjacent member 8 to be positioned to extend across the roof directly between the proximate ends of a brace 9, that is to say with its lugs 8, 8 straddling the lugs 9 and 9", to form a substantially horizontal truss.

l/Vith a view to avoid interference as much as possible with the members of the siding 5, the side plates 6 are gained in their outer faces to accommodate the lugs 8 and 9", the members 8 and 9 being fastened by a bolt 16 passing through the fascia, siding, side plate, and lugs. 1f desired, the side plates may be strengthened and stress from the substructure distributed by a strap connection 17 extending between the inner and outer lugs and under the side plate as shown in Figure 5, the ends of which are suitably perforated to receive the bolt 16.

Though not absolutely essential to this present invention a series of ridge T bars IS-may be longitudinally located centrally of the trusses and fastened thereto at their depending ends 19 by means of the bolts 1% as shown in Figure 1.

In assembling the roof substructure on the car body the K-shaped members may be longitudinally placed at intervals from each other; or they may have their ends in fixed arrangement, which latter is the preferred construction, and in this way providing a series of braced trusses lying in a substantially horizontal plane; their end portions straddled and clamped on the car side plates holding them and other body members rigid against rocking and twisting of the car. Other advantages will present themselves to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described my invention and illustrated its use what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following 1. A carline roof frame, comprising a member running across the roof between the'eaves thereof,and a bracing member of angle section adapted to be fastened at its unbent middle portion to the first mentioned member, the horizontal flange of the said middle portion being separated to fold under adjacent overlapping end portions of the horizontal flange to. engage with its vertical web when the ends of the bracing member are bent away to diverge from the first mentioned member.

"2. A roof frame comprising a carline scribed witnesses.

to be fastened at its unbent middle portion to the said carline and having the horizontal flange of the said middle portion slit in to form a separate portion, said separate portion having its side edges folded under the adjacent overlapping side edges of the other "portions of the horizontal flange when the ends of the bracing member are bent to diverge from the carline, the separate portion and overlapping side edges being formed with alined bolt openings, substantially as described.

at. A car roof structure comprising a carline of angle section constituting the vchord member of the structure and extending between the side plates of the car, the end of its horizontalilange being bent over the side plate to form a depending flange and its vertical flange bent inwardly at right angles, a truss member of similar section having bent end flanges substantially corresponding with those of'the chord member and formed to extend within the chord member flanges and between them and the side plate, a strap bent under the side plate and having its upper ends embracing the end flanges of the members, said strap ends and end flanges being formed with an alined bolt hole for the reception of a single fastening element, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 17t 1 day of December, A. l). 1912, in the presence of the two sub FRANK JAGER.

1 Witnesses:

NV. HERBERT Fowirns, M. MARGARET Moons.

"Copies n! this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing-the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

